# How do I get banned from a state? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022 "2006-10-19T00:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Master\_Shake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f17d59/32.png) [@Master\_Shake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Shake)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/1 "2006-10-19T00:01:55Z")
A friend told me a story recently of an old boyfriend of hers who went into an army recruiting office in Washington State, apparently started some sort of fight, and got himself permanently kicked out of Washington. Is this even possible, and if so, what does one have to do to get such a punishment? I trust the friend who told me this - she’s not the type to make up ridiculous stories - but she said she was never given any details of the actual incident. I went to [access.wa.gov](http://access.wa.gov) and talked to help desk representatives both online and over the phone, but neither of them could provide an answer for me, at least not in the five minutes they spent looking. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/2 "2006-10-19T00:18:30Z")
It’s called having a warrant out for your arrest cause you either didn’t get caught before you left the state or jumped bail. Most people with active warrants in other states that I have met phrase it in “They kicked me out of \_\_\_\_” as well as “I’m banned from going back to \_\_\_\_”. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/3 "2006-10-19T00:24:27Z")
I am certainly no expert on this but I will try to get you started. I am fairly certain you can’t get banned from a state. Think what would happen if you later got a job with the U.S. government and they sent you on a trip to the state in question and they wouldn’t let you in. I don’t think that would fly well a and there probably about 3.2 gajillion federal laws in conflict with that idea. That said, it is possible to get yourself in a situation where it is a really good idea to stay away from a state for a while or for good. That would be mainly for civil or criminal state matters that are more likely to be pursued if you are physically present in the state. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/4 "2006-10-19T00:27:56Z")
Why do I think she was told Washington State as in university, not Washington the state. I’m sure they recruit there also. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Shake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f17d59/32.png) [@Master\_Shake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Shake)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/5 "2006-10-19T00:33:37Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Why do I think she was told Washington State as in university, not Washington the state. I’m sure they recruit there also. [/QUOTE] The way she told the story, there’s no doubt that it was in reference to the entire state of Washington, not just a university, but as one of the reasons I was skeptical was that it was an old boyfriend telling her, and that may have led to some exaggeration and whatnot. I tend to think more along the lines of what \*\* Shagnasty\*\* mentioned, that is, that it might just have been a really good idea for him to stay away, and he blew it up into more than it was, at least originally. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/6 "2006-10-19T00:56:08Z")
Back in the day a bunch of people were banished from Massachussets: [http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Mass-Banishment-Act.html](http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Mass-Banishment-Act.html) There are also writs of _ne exeat_: [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=co&vol=1999sc\sc0521a&invol=1](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=co&vol=1999sc%5Csc0521a&invol=1) ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/7 "2006-10-19T02:03:41Z")
It is possible (though very unlikely) that he may have been convicted of a crime and that one of the conditions of his sentence was to remain outside of the state. It would only remain in force while he was under the court’s jurisdiction, usually no more than two years. Twice in my career I’ve seen a judge do this to prevent someone from entering our city, and I’ve heard of it a couple of times preventing someone from being in a particular county. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/8 "2006-10-19T02:35:57Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I am certainly no expert on this but I will try to get you started. I am fairly certain you can’t get banned from a state. Think what would happen if you later got a job with the U.S. government and they sent you on a trip to the state in question and they wouldn’t let you in. I don’t think that would fly well a and there probably about 3.2 gajillion federal laws in conflict with that idea. [/QUOTE] I had a friend get caught counterfeiting money. Not only did he get banned from the state (for a few years anyways), but I’m thinking most government work isn’t going to be in his future at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/9 "2006-10-19T02:40:06Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] I had a friend get caught counterfeiting money. Not only did he get banned from the state (for a few years anyways), but I’m thinking most government work isn’t going to be in his future at this point. [/QUOTE] Although most crimes would be something that is dealt with at the state level, I am pretty sure counterfeiting isn’t one of those. Was he printing up fake cheese and brandy gift certificates? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/10 "2006-10-19T02:43:54Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] Back in the day a bunch of people were banished from Massachussets [/QUOTE] Of course there would have to be a pretty good reason for the banishment today because of the right to travel cases: [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=526&invol=489#fr1.12](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=526&invol=489#fr1.12) _and see_, [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RL32664.pdf](http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RL32664.pdf) (discussing the standards at 11-12.) _But see_, > [@](#): > > State v. Frances Nienhardt, 196 Wis. 2d 161, 537 N.W.2d 123 (Ct. App. 1995) > For Nienhardt: Marjorie A. Wendt > Issue/Holding: On conviction for unlwaful use of telephone, where Nienhardt’s behavior included persistent pattern of harassment (including evidence of stalking the victim near her home in Cedarburg), probation condition “that requires her to stay out of the city of Cedarburg during the duration of her probation” was reasonable as satisfying Nienhardt’s need for rehabilitation and public’s need for protection. Nor does the condition unduly restrict her right to travel: > > ``` > We conclude that while the condition may make it inconvenient in some circumstances for Nienhardt given that she may have to shop elsewhere or slightly alter her travel around Cedarburg, we think the condition is no more than an inconvenience. See Miller, 175 Wis.2d at 212, 499 N.W.2d at 218. The trial court specifically asked Nienhardt if there was any reason why she needed to be in Cedarburg, and the only response was that Nienhardt bought cigarettes there. We agree with the trial court that the desire to purchase cigarettes in Cedarburg is hardly compelling. Further, the record indicates that Nienhardt resides in Brown Deer, approximately six to ten miles from Cedarburg, and there is no evidence that the condition would deny her access to any goods or services. > > ``` _and_ \*Doe v. Miller \* 405 F.3d 700, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 7435 (8th Cir. 2005), _cert. denied_, 126 S. Ct. 757; 163 L. Ed. 2d 574; 2005 U.S. LEXIS 8630; 74 U.S.L.W. 3322 (upholding ban on convicted sex offenders living within 2000 feet of a school or childcare facility): [http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/05/04/041568P.pdf](http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/05/04/041568P.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/11 "2006-10-19T02:58:11Z")
I’ve got a vague recollection that some states used to effectively expel people (as a condition of probation), but that was overturned (probably on the right to travel basis mentioned by **Gfactor** ), and that the fallback position was to ban the convict from all but one remote, undesireable county. I want to say this happened in Georgia. I’ll see what I can track down. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/12 "2006-10-19T03:23:29Z")
No luck on the Georgia case so far. Here’s a discussion from a California case: [http://fsnews.findlaw.com/cases/ca/caapp4th/slip/2006/g037152.html](http://fsnews.findlaw.com/cases/ca/caapp4th/slip/2006/g037152.html) Banishment from a state appears to raise Constitutional problems. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/13 "2006-10-19T03:27:14Z")
Here’s some evidence that, as recently as 2005, Georgia was banishing convicts to a small area of the state, presumably to avoid Constitutional problems with complete banishment from the state. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/14 "2006-10-19T03:34:12Z")
Here’s some evidence that, as recently as 2005, Georgia was banishing convicts to a small area of the state, presumably to avoid Constitutional problems with complete banishment from the state. > **[Georgia General Assembly](https://www.legis.ga.gov)** > > Georgia General Assembly, is one of the largest state legislatures in the nation. The General Assembly consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/15 "2006-10-19T03:48:32Z")
[QUOTE=Random] > **[Find Laws, Legal Help, and Attorneys - FindLaw](https://www.findlaw.com/)** > > Find trusted, free legal information, news, DIY forms and access to local lawyers at FindLaw.com. Banishment from a state appears to raise Constitutional problems. [/QUOTE] Nice find. At a minimum any banishment by a state will be subject to strict scrutiny. I’d have thought that the \*ne exeat \* cases and cases involving parole and probation conditions that prohibit leaving a state would be subject to the same objections. Also, intrastate bans are still controversial, but less so: > [@](#): > > The Does also assert that § 692A.2A infringes upon a fundamental constitutional right to intrastate travel. The Supreme Court has not decided whether there is a fundamental right to intrastate travel, see Memorial Hosp. v. Maricopa County, 415 U.S. 250, 255-56 (1974), although it observed long ago that under the Articles of Confederation, state citizens “possessed the fundamental right, inherent in citizens of all free governments, peacefully to dwell within the limits of their respective states, to move at will from place to place therein, and to have free ingress thereto and egress therefrom.” United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281, 293 (1920). During the same era, the Court also commented that “the right of locomotion, the right to remove from one place to another according to inclination, is an attribute of personal liberty . . . secured by the 14th Amendment,” Williams v. Fears, 179 U.S. 270, 274 (1900), but as the Third Circuit observed, “it is unclear whether the travel aspect of cases like Fears can be severed from the general spirit of Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45(1905), now thoroughly discredited, that was so prominent in the substantive due process analysis of that period.” Lutz v. City of York, 899 F.2d 255, 266 (3d Cir. 1990). > > Some of our sister circuits have recognized a fundamental right to intrastate travel in the context of a “drug exclusion zone” that banned persons from an area of a city for a period of time, Johnson v. City of Cincinnati, 310 F.3d 484, 496-98 (6th Cir. 2002), an ordinance that outlawed “cruising” and thus limited the ability of persons to drive on certain major public roads, Lutz, 899 F.2d at 268, and a law thatcreated a durational residency requirement as a condition of eligibility for public housing. King v. New Rochelle Mun. Hous. Auth., 442 F.2d 646, 647-48 (2d Cir. 1971). The Second Circuit, for example, reasoned that it would be “meaningless to describe the right to travel between states as a fundamental precept of personal liberty and not to acknowledge a correlative constitutional right to travel within a state.” Id. at 648; see also Johnson, 310 F.3d at 497 n.4; Lutz, 899 F.2d at 261. Other decisions have held that there is no fundamental right to intrastate travel in the context of a bona fide residency requirement imposed as a condition of municipal employment. Andre v. Bd. of Trs. of Maywood, 561 F.2d 48, 52-53 (7th Cir. 1977); Wardwell v. Bd. of Educ., 529 F.2d 625, 627 (6th Cir. 1976); Wright v. City of Jackson, 506 F.2d 900, 901-02 (5th Cir. 1975); see also Doe v. City of Lafayette, 377 F.3d 757, 770-71 (7th Cir. 2004) (en banc) (holding that city’s ban of sex offender from all public parks did not implicate fundamental right to intrastate travel, where offender was “not limited in moving from place to place within his locality to socialize with friends and family, to participate in gainful employment or to go to the market to buy food and clothing”); Hutchins v. District of Columbia, 188 F.3d 531, 538-39 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (en banc) (holding that there is no fundamental right for juveniles to be in a public place without adult supervision during curfew hours). \*Doe v. Miller \* ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/16 "2006-10-19T13:21:36Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Although most crimes would be something that is dealt with at the state level, I am pretty sure counterfeiting isn’t one of those. Was he printing up fake cheese and brandy gift certificates? [/QUOTE] He lived in Illinois, but was living in some college dorms in Wisconsin. He was sent back home. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Shake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f17d59/32.png) [@Master\_Shake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Shake)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-banned-from-a-state/377022/17 "2006-10-19T19:40:30Z")
Thanks very much for all the help, especially **Gfactor** and **Random**. I’d buy you a beer or something, but . . . would you be satisfied with a nice smile? 😃